The Daily Mitzvah schedule runs parallel to the daily
study of 3 chapters of Maimonides' 14-volume code. There are
instances when the Mitzvah is repeated a few days consecutively while the exploration of the same Mitzvah continues in the in-depth track.

We are commanded numerous times throughout the Torah to serve G‑d. Although this is a general commandment, it does contain a very specific application: prayer, service of the heart as expressed through the mouth.

The 5th mitzvah is that we are commanded to serve G‑d (blessed be He). This commandment is repeated many times: And you shall serve G‑d, your L‑rd";1 "And you shall serve Him";2 "And to serve Him."3

Although this commandment is of a general nature,4 as explained in the Fourth Principle,5 [and apparently should not be included in the count of the 613 mitzvos,] nevertheless it has a specific quality, since it is the commandment to pray.

[We see that "service" is not just a general command from the following statements:] The Sifri6 says, "The verse, 'And to serve Him' means prayer." The Sages also said, "The verse, 'And to serve Him' means Torah study.

In the Mishnah of Rabbi Eliezer, the son of Rabbi Yosi HaG'lili,7 the Sages said, "What is the biblical source to include prayer among the mitzvos? From the verse, 'You shall fear G‑d, your L‑rd, and you shall serve Him.' "8

They also said,9 "Serve Him through His Torah; serve Him in His Temple." This [statement, 'serve Him in His Temple,'] means that one's goal should be to pray in the Temple or in the direction of the Temple, as King Solomon explained.10

Rabbi Berel Bell is a well-known educator, author and lecturer. He and his family reside in Montreal, Canada.

It would have been fitting that the rebukes (in the Book of Deuteronomy) be pronounced by Balaam, and that the blessings (in the Parshah of Balak) be said by Moses... But G-d said: Let Moses, who loves them, rebuke them; and let Balaam, who hates them, bless them